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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: roll · bulb · present · band · last · chair · wind · chest

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bulb — for light
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. present — there
  5. last — to go on
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. band — a music group
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chest — a box
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. last — final
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. present — the time now
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bulb — for light
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. present — a gift
  20. wind — moving air
  21. band — a ring
  22. roll — a cake
  23. roll — a list
  24. last — finally

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com